August 1, 2015

If I understand correctly, a lot of US goods that I (admittedly) take for granted are actually pretty hard to come by outside our borders! Things like Sephora (that’s a big one) Bath and Body Works, Apple—or at least, Apple at a reasonable price—and sometimes even Amazon.

So to all my international friends out there (and heck, maybe even myself, considering I might move abroad again this winter), I present to thee a US shopping service called US Go Buy!

I think most of us here are familiar with what a shopping/forwarding service is, seeing how we all know about Taobao and how to order from there. But basically, US Go Buy acts as your middleman to getting US products. Since a lot of US brands don’t ship internationally, you ship it to them first (by checking out with the address they provide to you), and then from there, they ship it to you. That’s their Ship For Me service.

For their shopping service (where they buy for you), their service fee is 5%. Less than the 10% that a lot of Taobao agents have!

You can store your items in their warehouse for 3 whole months for free.

Any leftover payment from your shipping fee is credited back to your account, whereupon you can use it in your next order or request a refund.

Good English: The stress of miscommunication is always a valid concern, especially when it comes to forwarding services like this. But in the back-and-forth email exchange I had with them, their English was solid. Not eloquent, no, but everything I said was understood perfectly.

So the next time America you want some delicious Sephora goodies and handbags (perhaps during Black Friday), consider looking into US Go Buy!

Please note: This was a sponsored post. Everything I have written is taken directly from their website and paraphrased. I have not used their service personally and therefore cannot speak as a true customer. I always advocate being a proactive consumer, so please keep this tidbit in mind!

I love this product! This is the essence/serum from the same line as the Guerisson horse oil cream. This product makes my skin incredibly smooth and soft, to the point that my makeup has improved greatly. The only downside is that it doesn’t do anything for moisture (hence the -0.5 stars), although I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.

Once again, I will be including lots of pictures of the packaging, just in case there are any fakes out there and people need something to compare against. Mine is authentic and was sent over by a friend who had purchased it from Olive Young. Olive Young is an official retailer for Guerisson products in Korea.

Here is the box it comes in and its corresponding dimensions:

The front of the box and its logo:

The back:

A closeup of the back's text (notice the Guerisson sticker on top):

The product amount is written here:

The barcode on the bottom of the box:

The top of the box:

The inner flaps has the word Guerisson on it:

The bottle is made of sturdy glass and the logo is slightly embossed:

Here's the back of the bottle:

I didn't include a closeup of the text, but it's the same as on the horse oil cream, with no capitalization on "made in korea."

Here's the bottom:

And the cap, which is made of aluminum:

The bottle's opening is quite wide:

Because of this, it's easy for a lot of product to spill out. Pour slowly and tip it back as soon as you have a little on your hand!

It has a medium-strong scent of animal fat. It reminds me of cutting beef, but I don't find it at all off-putting. It’s not a “sharp” scent; it doesn’t smell like perfume, herbs, or chemicals.

How it feels on my face: It doesn't absorb particularly fast. It also doesn't feel hydrating or moisturizing. It does, however, feel a little mattifying. Since this is a thick liquid, it sort of absorbs the wetness from my previous toner and my Honey Bomb. Here's how it looks when I apply it (and only it):

Not much added moisture or dewiness, as you can see!

My skin felt much smoother the very next day, and even more so during the next few weeks. Whenever I’d go to wash my face, my entire face (including my flaky nose) would feel incredibly soft and velvety. However, if I skipped using it for a day, my skin wouldn’t feel as soft that day. It would feel soft as soon as I started using it again, though.

After the first 2-3 weeks, my skin no longer felt wowingly soft like it had before. Not to take away from this product, though; it was still very soft! And my skin would continue to feel soft even if I skipped a couple days in between. Here is how BB cream, which usually looks terrible on me, compares after using this product for 1.5months:

July 29, 2015

I had some fun playing with different eyebrows the other day! Eyebrows play a large part in our expression, and I think the following photos illustrate that well. Here is me with 5 different eyebrow variations, and looking quite different with each one:

Eyebrow #1: The Mona Lisa
Okay, technically, this is No Eyebrow #1!

This is me before brow makeup. People act like having no eyebrows is the worst thing in the world, but to be honest, I don’t think it’s that bad! It could be that I’m so used to it by now, but I think it has a unique appeal to it. It’s expressionless, so it’s almost a bit “clean” in that aspect (minus the hair growing in, lol.) I've gone outside like this before, except with bangs. It reminds me of Ben Linus from Lost XD

Eyebrow #2: The Asian
I hope it’s not racist if I call it that. Certainly anyone can have these eyebrows; I just associate them most with Asian makeup, that’s all. ^^

I’m not a huge fan of these brows on me, simply because I have a low brow bone. The eyebrows end up being quite close to my eyes, and it looks a bit…manly. If you stare at me long enough, I almost look like a boy with long hair!

And with the contrast against my round eyes, I also feel like Bernie from Sesame Street:

Unlike the last pair of eyebrows that contrasted against my eye shape, these eyebrows accentuate them. They give me a soft, docile, almost surprised look. They also make my face look narrower than the straight-across brows, which made my face look flat and wide. (Scroll up and check--they do!)

These are my personal favorite! They do look a bit cartoonish, but I like that sort of thing.

Eyebrow #4: The Scarlett Johannson

These eyebrows give a somewhat intense, “electrifying” gaze. I personally think I look angry, as if I’m about to pounce on you for offending me. XD
These brows were inspired by this picture:

Eyebrow #5: The Ginty Banks

These eyebrows are an in between of all the ones before it. They’re not too strong, and my expression looks pretty neutral overall.

They were inspired by Annie Rose Buckley, the actress who played Ginty Banks in the movie “Saving Mr. Banks.”

Which one is right?
I personally think that #5 looks the most harmonious against my facial features, HOWEVER!
I also genuinely believe that there are no rules when it comes to makeup. People should just do whatever makes them happy. Some people want to look trendy, and others want to look their optimal selves.

For me, it’s about expression. So instead of which eyebrow is "right," it mostly depends on what look I’m going for that day, be it androgynous, cartoonish, serious, or just “pretty.” Each aspect of your hair and makeup goes into creating the image you are embodying that day, and eyebrows are but a mere piece of that puzzle.

And at the end of the day, trends change, moods change, and faces age. So whatever your priorities are, it's good to re-examine your brows and play with different shapes every now and then, just to make sure you're in tip-top condition. That’s my opinion, at least! And plus, it's super fun :3

July 27, 2015

I thought that just compiling a bunch of cat clips together would be boring—you can easily search for that on Youtube yourself—so I focused more on the ambience of cafe instead. Because if you’re like me, you’re there to people-watch and lifestyle-watch, as well as kitty-watch! That’s why I left the audio on the video clips, to give you a better idea of what the vibe was like. :3 I'm sad to say I won't be adding subtitles this time (they're sooo painful to do), but let me know if there's anything you didn't understand.

Did anyone notice how robotic the last guy was when he walked up to the cat? I didn’t intentionally record him, but I realized later it was kinda humorous. It’s exactly how I feel at this café—must approach the cats slowly and cautiously, lest they run away!

More pictures, including stuff not in the video:

This cat cafe is part of a franchise called 고양이다락방 (Cat Attic), and this particular location seems to have quite a few foreigners, what with being in Sinchon and all. So if you’re in search of a more “authentic” foreigner-free experience, this location probably isn’t the one!

Ambience
It’s pretty carefree compared to normal cafes. People walk around a lot and sometimes talk loudly. I’ve noticed that it’s kind of free game to (sliiightly) invade other people’s space, so long as it’s in pursuit of a cat.
For example, if you noticed at 3:00 in the video, the little girl on the right is getting pretty close to the young couple’s table in order to look at something. No biggie there.
Or, if you are momentarily out of your chair and walking around, and a cat then jumps onto your table or chair, other people will freely approach your chair/table/unattended belongings in order to pet the cat. No hesitation, really.

That being said, the cats really do keep to themselves here! If you watch closely in the video, you’ll see that a lot of the time people are actually on their phones or chatting amongst themselves. There’s not a lot of interaction with the cats here, so the focus is still heavily on who you’re with.

Smell & Cleanliness
I’ve been to a cat cafe that smelled horribly sour, but this one was fine. Jiyeon said it smelled, but I couldn’t tell at all.

My overall rating: 3/5. This location gives you an average cat café experience.
Cleanliness is good, but the ambience could be better! The branch located in Kundae (Konkuk University area) was larger, had friendlier kitties, and an area in the center where lots of people sat in a circle to pet the kitties. You wouldn’t be socializing with any local Koreans persay, but it would still feel less “isolated” than this café.